The Way I See It Parent Guide

How does a man with no real interest in politics become a social media star, a public speaker and a guest on TV talk shows? Why does he go from simply taking pictures to using them to troll the President of the United States?

Answers to these questions are found in The Way I See It, a documentary about Pete Souza, former Chief Official White House Photographer for President Barack Obama and official photographer for President Ronald Reagan. The son of immigrants from the Azores, Souza never expected to become a political photographer until he was invited to work at the Reagan White House. He photographed President Reagan for six years before resuming his freelance career and then joining the Obama White House in 2008.

Souza’s goal as presidential photographer was both simple and expansive. He says: “I look at myself as a historian with a camera. The job is to visually document the presidency for history…. My goal was to create the best photographic archive of a president that had ever been done. To create lasting images for history.” The breadth and depth of Souza’s photographic legacy cannot be denied and social media has spread those images faster and further than any president’s pictures have ever traveled.

With the end of Obama’s term, Souza planned to fade back into anonymity…until President Trump began tweeting. Souza started posting photographic rebuttals to the President’s tweets and a social media star was born. In quick succession came a book, a speaking tour, and this documentary. However, The Way I See It is more than it seems on the surface. Although it’s full of wonderful photos, it’s not just a photo flick. And even though it contains some mild criticism of the Trump administration, it’s certainly not an anti-Trump rant. At its heart, this documentary is a meditation on photography, history, and the power of the Presidency.

Souza reminds us that “Journalism is the first draft of history” and this film shows us the rough cuts; the intimate moments that don’t make it onto the TV news. Looking at those photos forces us to ask ourselves how we construct our images of sitting presidents; how we think we can possibly know them as well as we think we do. They challenge our perceptions and push us to think more deeply and research more broadly.

The film also raises the issue of the Presidency – its awesome power, its unparalleled influence, and its crushing responsibilities. It asks viewers what we expect of the President of the United States and what kind of responsibility voters have to elect the person they believe will best fill that office.

This documentary comes with minimal concerns and is a great way to encourage teens to think about history, politics, and the Presidency. With Souza’s bipartisan background, it can hopefully help Americans rediscover a shared middle ground from which to reflect on the highest office in the land.